Best Practices in Recruiting and Retaining Welders

A company’s goal is to create and sell products that serve its customers safely and effectively, and increasing profitability. A strong workforce is the key to accomplishing this goal. Below are best practices to find and keep skilled welders who work hard and produce much.

Related reading:
6 Best Ways to Address Shortage of Skilled Welders

1. Promote positives of welding to young people

Welding has been cursed as a dirty, low-tech profession of last resort. As many workers today are more attracted to desk jobs, the perception of welding has left parents, students, career counselors to dissuade potential workers elsewhere. 

What is often untold is that welding is a challenging career with potential for income and mobility. It isn’t exaggerating to say that welders help build the world. In the fields from construction, car racing to manufacturing, welders use their skills to join metal together to proper specifications and strength. Many high-growth industries rely on welding – for example, energy and structural fabrication. Welding is indispensable for construction, maintenance and repair in all these sectors. Newly-trained welders can earn on par with a 1st year degreed mechanical or civil engineers. Compensation grows when welders gain experience. Significant increases are drawn when travel is required.

Promoting the positives of welding careers to students, parents, and career counselors is critical. Trained welders and their employers should be involved with the local high schools, trade programs, welding competitions. This way, students can directly meet with successful and established welders, who can verify the benefits. Also, employers can approach their future workers. 

Also, promoting welding as a high-tech industry makes it more appealing to the young. Welding has involved almost the same level of technology as other professions and can offer the same challenges. Robotic welding is among the industry’s fastest growing segments.

2. Offer effective training on new technologies, machines and consumables to the existing workforce

That way helps keep workers engaged in their jobs. Workers need to feel they are among contributors to the company’s success. A company’s investment in training its workers communicates its commitment to its employees’ future and can be substantially more cost effective than hiring and training new workers.

3. Stress safety as a culture

A workplace stressing safety as a culture can be more inviting and allows workers to work their best. This should involve repetitive safety-in-welding training, regular assessment of work practices, safety standards, OSHA requirements. Employers should also allow workers to engage in open discussions and to suggest safe work habits.

Installing a welding fume-extraction system may be one solution to giving adequate ventilation. It can also communicate a message of your appreciation to your employees, which can contribute to improved recruitment and retention.

Overall, all of these practices help develop a safer, more productive working environment. This help reduce injuries, employees’ compensation and lost days.